Page 101 of Unexpected Redemption

Her laugh takes a layer of worry off my shoulders. If she can giggle at one of Mia’s jokes, she’ll be okay. I hope.

Mia cracks a smile. “The king of Crete’s son, Androgeus, won the Panathenaic Games in nearby Athens, which was basically like beating the shit out of the host country in the Olympics. This pissed off the king of Athens, Aegeus. To retaliate, he set up Androgeus by challenging him to fight a bull. Naturally, he was killed because it was a fucking bull. His death set off a series of events that essentially were the downfall of King Minos. Prior to this, he was seen as a good king who brought prosperity to Crete. When his son was killed, Minos declared war on Athens. There was a great battle, blah, blah, blah. Crete and Athens became sworn enemies. Side note: Minos, the king of Crete, did somefucked-up shit to win the war. Like serious mafia lord shit. For example, dragging people behind his boat until they drown.”

Lettie makes a gagging motion. “Blech. Eww.”

Mia smirks and continues with the story. “When Athens eventually surrendered to Crete, King Minos worked out a disgusting arrangement, making King Aegeus pick seven boys and seven girls from Athens to be sent to Crete every few years. Once there, they’d be sent to the labyrinth, where they would inevitably be eaten alive by the minotaur. It was essentially a sacrifice.”

“It’s likeThe Hunger Games.” Lettie shakes her head despondently, adding a tsking sound. “Minos is nothing but a Greek President Snow.”

Klein jumps in. “Before we get to the fascinating tale about the minotaur, let’s discuss roles for the players we’ve heard about so far.” He looks at Mia, who waves him on. “Now, if we still assume Nikolai Lenkov is King Minos, we don’t know who Androgeus is because Lenkov’s son, Viktor, and two daughters are still alive. To our knowledge, he doesn’t have other children, other thanpotentiallythe one Katia is carrying.”

“Does Nikolai have a wife?” Lettie asks.

“Yes,” I answer. “Her name is Irena.”

Lettie lowers her face, her eyes narrowing. “Is she alive?”

I nod, answering in the affirmative.

Her jaw slowly begins sagging. “Does she know about Katia? And the baby?”

Mia snickers. “Possibly. In fact, more than likely. The mafia is full of arranged marriages. They aren’t exactly Hallmark love stories.”

Lettie’s jaw falls the rest of the way to her chest. “The audacity of that man. I tell you what, I would unplug his life support to charge my phone based on that shit alone.” She whipsher face toward me. “Let it be known, I’d cut off my husband’s balls if he ever got another woman pregnant.”

“Ouch.” Klein shifts away from Lettie, then cuts a playful glare at me. “Better be careful, T.”

I smile at Lettie. She can threaten me with death or dismemberment, and it won’t matter. The chance of me cheating on her is less than zero.

Mia clears her throat demurely. “I’m with Lettie on that point. Anyhow, about Irena Lenkov. From my research over the years, I can say confidently that she isn’t around her husband much. Most of the time, she travels around the globe, blowing through Lenkov’s blood money. Probably has her own harem. I doubt she gives two shits who her husband has in his bed.”

“For those reasons, I put a question mark by Irena’s name on the line for Pasiphae,” Klein explains.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, fighting off a brewing headache. “To be honest, I don’t think this aspect of the story is relevant to the case. It’s background, I suspect.”

“Why do you say that?” Mia asks.

“Yuri wouldn’t use this part of the tale if it led to something he knew wouldn’t make sense to us. There’d be no point. He might be a dickhead, but he’s cunning and intelligent. Lenkov doesn’t have a dead child to start a war. The wife is questionable. And further, we aren’t aware of any war Lenkov has with other families that would equate to the war between Athens and Crete. There are too many gaps.”

From the corner of my eye, I see Lettie’s head shaking subtly. “What is it, sugar bear?”

“Did someone close to Lenkov die when Redleg came to blows with them over that financial case thing? The one Kri was telling me about when she was kidnapped? She mentioned a shootout.”

Klein quickly responds, “Several of Lenkov’s people died. And a few others ended up in prison. Not sure how close they were to him, though.”

Lettie grabs a pen on the table and starts clicking it. “Maybe the symbolic war between Crete and Athens is between Lenkov and Redleg.”

Mia’s nods grow more emphatic. “Or the killing of his hold over Franco Financial started thewarwith Redleg. Could be it was his pet project. Like his brainchild instead of an actual human child.”

Klein and I trade glances. He rolls his lower lip out and lifts one shoulder in cautious agreement.

“It’s possible,” I offer, then look to Mia. “Why don’t you add it?”

Already moving in that direction, she folds the top page over the back of the easel, revealing a blank paper where she scrawls out this new theory.

“Any thoughts on who the wife is?” I ask Lettie, curious to hear more of her thoughts.

Unlike us, she brings a fresh perspective because she isn’t bogged down in the minutia.

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